


Nobody Compares

by mc_writer



Series: Nobody Compares [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, M/M, Summer, Surfing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-16
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-08-15 07:51:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8048326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mc_writer/pseuds/mc_writer
Summary: This was originally written for 1dlyricwheel. It was beta’d by the wonderful JoMouse.Photograph, is the 2nd in this series.





	Nobody Compares

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written for 1dlyricwheel. It was beta’d by the wonderful JoMouse.  
> Photograph, is the 2nd in this series.

There was a first time for everything.

That was a thing right, Zayn thought to himself. It was a thing that people said?

Or, was it just Harry and his crazy green eyes and ridiculous dimples, trying to get him to loosen up and just live a little for a change?

Zayn allowed himself a smile as he recalled their Skype conversation from a few weeks ago.

“Harry! You look well, mate!”

“Thanks, Zayn! It’s this place, honestly, it changes you.”

Harry looked amazing. Tan, rested, happy. Zayn rubbed a hand over his face, suddenly aware that he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days and that there were shadows under his eyes that he worried were now permanent fixtures.

“I hate to say it, but you don’t look so good.” Concern radiated off on-screen Harry, even though he was miles away. “Don’t you have time off for the summer? Hey!” Harry’s face brightened with a sudden realization. “You should totally come out here!”

Zayn looked at him with doubt written all over his face.

“You know who you’re talking to here, right, Harry? I don’t do the beach.”

Harry rolled his eyes at him and leaned even closer to his computer screen.

“I know who I’m talking to, my horribly stubborn friend Zayn Malik. And I know you’re not a beach person, but, seriously…you might like it. I never thought I’d be surfing, or, okay, well, trying to surf.” Harry’s expression turned soft and Zayn wasn’t sure if he imagined that his eyes fixed on something or someone else in the room there with him. Harry turned back to Zayn and smiled. “Maybe you could try too. I mean, there’s a first time for everything. It’s the summer. Give yourself a break. I promise you’ll love it here.”

Zayn cursed himself for giving in so easily. But, everyone had that friend, didn’t they? The friend that loved you and wanted only the best for you. Harry Styles was that friend. And sure, sometimes he came up with silly, harebrained schemes, but even when they failed horribly, they still always managed to make Zayn laugh and hey, that was how memories were made, right?

So, here he was at the airport in Hawaii, the beginnings of a migraine pricking behind his eyes and jet-lag threatening to drag him under, scanning the crowd for a tall, curly-haired…

“ZAYN!”

Despite the bone-deep weariness he felt from the long-haul flight, Zayn felt a weight lift from his shoulders at the sight of his friend. He laughed out loud as Harry tried to weave through all the bodies in the airport to get to him. Harry wrapped long arms around him and Zayn returned the hug, smiling at his floral shirt, buttons open to his chest. Trust Harry to go native.

“It’s brilliant that you’re here, Zayn!” Harry said, happiness written plainly on his face.

Zayn shook his head and let Harry take his bag as they made their way out of the terminal. "I still can’t quite believe I’m here. There’s just…so much…sun.“ He shut his eyes and lifted his face towards the light. "Wow.”

Harry looked at him fondly and bumped his shoulder against Zayn’s. “Open your eyes, our ride is here.”

Zayn blinked his eyes open to find a blue station wagon with surf boards stacked on its roof rack, a golden-skinned young man with a perfect fringe at the wheel, leaning over to grin at him.

“Zayn! ’M Louis. Harry’s done nothing but talk about you, feel like I know you already. Get in!”

Zayn’s dark eyes found Harry’s, his eyebrows arching slightly, a smile playing on the corners of his lips.

Well. Harry hadn’t said anything about this.

“Pleasure to meet you, Louis,” he said, sliding into the back seat. “Thanks for picking me up.”

Louis scoffed. “As if Harry would let you take a cab. I mean, as if Harry would let me let you take a cab.” He winced when Harry jabbed him in the ribs.

Harry turned in his seat to talk to Zayn. “You must be knackered. We’ll get you to the house. But, tomorrow,” he reached a long arm to tap Zayn on the chest. “You are going to the beach!”

Zayn smiled broadly and turned his face towards the open window, too tired to fight. With the sun warm on his face and the wind in his hair, he was feeling like he might just say yes to anything.

Standing on the shore the next morning, however, after a good night’s sleep and Harry’s special weekend pancakes and the perhaps the best cup of tea he’d ever had, Zayn had a moment of doubt.

“Umm. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. Maybe I should just like, sit on the beach. And take photographs,” he said, kicking his feet in the sand.

“Taking photographs is work, Zayn, and you’re supposed to be on break! No backing out now,” Harry said, sternly.

“I’m not even that great a swimmer!” Zayn protested, weakly.

Louis’ sharp eyes scanned the surf. “It’s perfect conditions today, though, Zayn. Perfect for beginners, like you. And this baby giraffe here,” he said gesturing at Harry, who tried to look indignant, but somehow only ended up looking fond. “Let’s get a move on, Harry,” Louis said. “You always take forever getting ready.”

“Wait, if you and Harry are going together, who’s with me?” Zayn asked, panic rising in his chest.

“Oh, we got you the best teacher,” Harry said, reassuringly.

“Yeah. Liam’s very patient, very kind,” Louis said.

Harry leaned closer to Zayn and whispered, “Not to mention, proper fit.”

“Tommo! Harry!” A cheerful voice called out. Zayn turned towards the sound.

Oh.

“You must be Zayn! Am Liam. We’re gonna get you out there, catching waves today!” He rubbed his hands together, and, looked so pleased, Zayn was ready to turn cartwheels if it meant it would keep that expression on his face forever.

“Nice to meet you, Liam.”

Zayn had to fight to keep the words “You’re so pretty…” from slipping from his lips.

But, he really, really was.

Louis nudged Harry with a knowing smile. “Let’s get out there, Harry. The sea awaits!”

Harry raised his eyebrows at Zayn. “Have fun, Zayn. Take good care of my friend, Liam.”

Zayn and Liam watched the two jog away, Liam trying to stifle a chuckle when Harry somehow got his long legs tangled together and almost tripped. Zayn tried to sneak a glance at Liam, cleared his throat, and said, “If you think Harry’s bad, well, I have to warn you. I’m the least athletic person there ever was. And I don’t even swim that well.”

“We’re staying in a very calm part of the beach. Over by the sandbar. It won’t get too rough and I’ll be right there with you,” Liam said, with a smile. Zayn wished Liam wouldn’t smile quite so hard at him. It made it difficult to think. Or speak. Or function in any way like a human being.

“So…taking a break from the city, huh?” Liam said as they walked to where he had set up boards for their lesson.

Zayn chuckled. “That obvious? I mean, I know I felt like a sick city boy, but I didn’t think I looked it!”

“Nah. Harry was talking about you all week. But,” he grinned at Zayn, “I think I could tell even if Harry hadn’t said anything. I mean, look at me,” Liam said, gesturing to himself. Zayn had, in fact, been trying not to look for fear he might forget how to breathe. Liam was wearing a black rash-guard and sensible dark blue board shorts with red trim.

“And look at you…” Liam said, gesturing at Zayn with a smile.

Zayn glanced down at himself. His rash-guard was an eye-catching shade of turquoise and his board shorts had a whimsical palm-tree pattern on it. He had bought it on impulse, figuring, hey, he was going to Hawaii. Go big or go home, right?

“You’re so London. Your own style. Don’t think anyone could that pull that look off like you,” Liam said.

“Too much?”

“No,” Liam bit his lip, ducked his head, shrugged and looked back up at Zayn. “I like it. It’s cool.”

By this time, they had reached the surfboards and Liam ran a hand through his dark hair. 

“Shall we get started, then?”

They spent the better part of the morning learning to balance on the board, practicing pop-ups, and mimicking paddling. Finally, Liam declared Zayn ready to venture into the water.

Standing waist deep in water, Zayn cast an uncertain glance at Liam.

“I don’t know about this,” he muttered.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine,” Liam’s voice was soothing. “We could even just sit out there on our boards, no pressure to catch a wave, unless you really want to.”

They paddled out. Zayn was proud of himself for remembering that he had to duck down with the board to get through the incoming waves. They were soon sitting on their boards, bobbing gently. Zayn leaned back on his palms, tilting his face to the sky.

“So,” he said, lazily. “Have you always wanted to be a surf instructor?”

Liam splashed water on his face and shook his head. “Nope. Went to business school in Wolverhampton.”

Zayn cracked an eye open. “Thought I detected a Brummie accent.”

Liam grinned. “Yeah. Worked in the city for a while. Decided it wasn’t for me. Ended up here, somehow. It’s funny how things work out. What about you?”

“Went to art school. Ended up being a photographer, which is how I met Harry. We worked together at the newspaper.”

“And, you’re here now, because?” Liam asked, curious.

A slow smiled spread over Zayn’s face. “It’s the summer! And Harry thought I needed a break. And I guess he was right.” He lifted his head and looked out at the sea. “And, he will have a fit if he finds out I didn’t even try. So maybe you should find me a nice gentle wave to try this out on?”

Liam pumped his fist in the air. “Yes! Get in! Ok.” He skillfully maneuvered his board to scan the water. “I see a good set coming in…alright, go, Zayn, paddle, paddle, paddle!”

Zayn got flat on his belly on the board and began paddling. He felt a moment of panic, but glanced back and saw Liam cheering him on. and, somehow, that gave him a boost of confidence.

“Pop up! Pop up!”

Zayn grunted and pushed himself up to a split stance, knees soft, arms outstretched. He was so busy concentrating he didn’t even notice that Liam had come up behind him, gliding easily next to him on the smooth surface of the water.

“Yes! You did it! You’re surfing!”

Zayn glanced at him with an exhilarated smile and a joyous whoop came bubbling out of his chest. “I did it!”

They glided all the way into the shallows where they stepped off the boards, Zayn dancing onto the sand like a kid, where Harry and Louis were waiting, clapping their hands and cheering for him.

“Loads better than Harry’s first time!” Louis said, ducking Harry’s half-hearted punch to the shoulder.

“Clearly, it’s because I’m the better teacher,” Liam said, reaching out to clap a hand to Zayn’s shoulder. “That was brilliant, Zayn.”

At that moment, Zayn wanted nothing more than to kiss Liam, just to see what he looked like after a proper kiss.

But, that wouldn’t be right. Even though it took superhuman effort not to kiss him, Zayn managed to keep himself under control.

Sometimes Zayn was so appropriate he annoyed himself.

Instead he smiled and said, “You’re a great teacher.”

“You were a great student.”

They stood there smiling dumbly at each other.

“And together we’re so good,” Zayn said finally.

Liam did an adorable giggle-shrug that made Zayn’s head spin so bad he felt like he needed to lie down on the sand for about an hour.

Stop, Zayn protested in his mind, you’re tearing me apart.

Louis finally cleared his throat. “Erm. So…Zayn, would you like to join us for lunch?”

Liam checked his watch. “Oh, yeah. Zayn you should go join them, I have another student. I’ll..see you around, hopefully?” He raised a hand to wave to Harry and Louis, and went jogging off, Zayn looking after him, a wistful expression on his face.

“Awww, Zaynie…you’re so pretty when you cry! Don’t be sad! He’ll be back!” Harry said, slinging an arm around him with a laugh.

Zayn glared at him. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“What? Introduced you to Liam? Nope. That was Louis’ idea.”

Zayn shifted his glance to Louis, who had a mischievous grin on his face. “How’d you know he’d be my type?”

“What? I didn’t. But, Liam is quite a handsome lad, isn’t he? He’d be anyone’s type. I introduced you because, well, he’s a good surf instructor, and,” his expression turned sly, “I think you’d get on well together.”

“Is he single?”

“Oh yeah. Single for too long, if you ask me. In the interests of transparency though, his last serious relationship was with a girl.”

Zayn was lost.

“What? He’s straight?”

Louis wrinkled his forehead in thought. “It’s…Liam’s complicated? Isn’t he, Harry? I figured if he needed a nudge in the right direction, well, you would be perfect.”

Zayn groaned. To be perfectly honest, he hadn’t even been thinking about a summer romance. But, if he were, he’d have hoped for something simple, light, fun.

Not, like, a challenge.

Zayn grinned. Not that he wasn’t up for it.

And Liam certainly proved to be a challenge. Zayn was a week into his vacation and he’d gone surfing only a couple more times with Liam, and, though he enjoyed it, he much preferred lying on the beach with a good book and a cold beverage in hand. Liam was always the same: all puppy-dog eyes and pink lips and that blasted boy-next-door charm. He seemed to give the strangest signals. Either that or Zayn was complete and utter crap at reading signals. He always stood so close Zayn could feel how warm his skin was. And somebody had apparently taught Liam that if you wanted only one person to hear what you had to say, you had to put your lips right up next to that person’s ear and let your lips brush their cheek.

Zayn wanted to congratulate whoever taught Liam that whispering technique. It was perfect.

Yet, he never asked Zayn out, invited him to lunch, or for a drink.

It just never seemed to be the right time to try and take things to the next level.

Harry collapsed on the sand next to Zayn, his smile wide.

“You look very relaxed.”

“I am very relaxed. This was one of your, well, not so ridiculous ideas,” Zayn said.

“Well, we had another idea,” Harry began.

“We?” Zayn raised an eyebrow at him.

Harry actually blushed. “Lou and I. We were thinking of having a party tonight. A small one,” he said, quickly, noting Zayn’s pained expression. “Just the people you already know. Something simple. Liam will be there, of course.”

Zayn grumbled. “Sometimes I think you and Louis have money on whether or not I kiss Liam Payne.”

Harry chuckled. “I would never admit to that. But, hey, no pressure, Zayn. It’s all good fun. It’s summer! There’s love in the air!”

Harry was right. Summer romances were supposed to be fun, light, easy. That’s what Zayn kept telling himself when Liam walked into the party that night. Grey henley shirt, dark blue jeans and white Converse sneakers. Zayn realized that this was probably the first time he’d seen Liam in actual clothes. In dry clothes. He couldn’t decide what he liked better.

Liam’s face lit up when he saw Zayn behind the kitchen counter that served as the bar. 

“Zayn, nice to see you. You weren’t out on the water today,” Liam said, his eyes narrowing accusingly.

Zayn chuckled. “Yeah, I was feeling lazy, so I just sat on the beach.” He turned in a slow circle, as if putting his good health on display. “Look!” All the time spent on the beach had done Zayn a world of good. His sun-kissed complexion looked warm and under the kitchen light, almost golden.

Liam’s hand closed over Zayn’s wrist as he leaned forward to inspect his arm.“Not bad. But, to be honest,” he said, more seriously, “you look loads better than when you arrived. Relaxed and, like…happy. It’s good. Happy looks good on you.”

They stood for a moment in comfortable silence, until Liam realized he still had his hand around Zayn’s wrist.

Not that Zayn minded.

Liam gently released Zayn’s arm and rubbed the back of his neck, with a sheepish grin.

Zayn shook his head, snapping into host mode. "Where are my manners!? What would you like to drink? We’ve got beer, wine and…well,” Zayn stirred the contents of a punch bowl, his expression dubious. “Louis made this. He says it’s some sort of punch.” He lifted his eyes to Liam. “Think we should risk it?”

Liam shrugged and smiled. “First time for everything?”

Zayn served them both a glass, but before he could take a sip, Liam tugged on his sleeve.

“Let’s go outside. This place has a great view of the sky.” They made their way out of the party, Zayn intensely aware of Liam’s fingers, light on his lower back as he guided him outside. Liam lowered himself onto the porch step and stretched his legs out in front of him, and Zayn followed suit.

Liam lifted his glass to Zayn. “To summer?”

“To summer. And first times,” Zayn, said.

They both took a sip from their glasses. Zayn winced. “What did Louis put in this?”

“Everything, seems like,” Liam said with a grimace. “Maybe the second sip is better?”

They both took another swallow, looked at each other and shook their heads.

“I think that’s quite enough of that,” Zayn said putting his glass down. He moved closer to Liam, who didn’t seem to mind. Zayn bumped his shoulder against Liam’s.

“So why’s a handsome lad like you still single? I figured you’d be fighting people off with a stick,” Zayn said.

Thank God for Louis and alcoholic courage.

Liam smiled bashfully. “Had a girlfriend. Thought we were good. Was wrong. My heart hasn’t quite been the same since.”

Zayn was quiet.

Liam bumped his shoulder against Zayn. “What about you?”

“Always too busy, I guess.”

“So, I never had the right person and you never had the right time. We’re a pair, aren’t we?”

Zayn took a deep breath and let his fingers touch Liam’s. Liam turned to him, a curious look on his face. Zayn lifted his hand and traced a finger down Liam’s face. 

“I guess we are. A pair.”

Zayn leaned forward, hesitated, and then pressed a chaste kiss to Liam’s jaw.

He sat back, a worried expression on his face.

“So, that was pretty stup–.”

But before he could finish speaking, Liam was closing the distance between them, his hand cupping Zayn’s face and…

Well.

Liam was everything Zayn had imagined. His lips were soft, but insistent, and when Zayn’s hand came up behind Liam’s neck to pull him closer, Liam made a hoarse noise in the back of his throat that made Zayn’s stomach turn somersaults. He opened his mouth to try and take a breath, and Liam’s tongue slid between his lips, hot and slick and tasting faintly like orange juice and rum. Liam deepened the kiss, his hands in Zayn’s hair; his chest, broad and solid against Zayn’s smaller frame. Liam seemed to be everywhere, all around him, all at once, and his skin was warm and he smelled like sunshine and saltwater and ocean breezes and it was all just too much. Zayn pulled away laughing, dizzy.

“Or, maybe not so stupid,” Zayn said, twining his fingers with Liam’s.

Liam looked bashful. “Never done that. Not with another guy. But, first time for everything, right? Not sure I ever want to stop now.” He kissed Zayn again and to be honest, Zayn didn’t want him to stop either. He fisted his hands in Liam’s shirt, and his lips dragged down his jaw to press against the birthmark on his neck. He lifted his face to look at Liam. “So, for a first time, what do you think?”

Liam said, leaning closer and capturing Zayn’s lips again. He stopped long enough to lean his forehead against Zayn’s, his eyes suddenly very dark.

“Nobody compares.”


End file.
